Outsourcing

COSTA MESA — The city has rescinded three requests for bids from companies to take on city services following a letter from employee groups arguing that the requests violate municipal policy. In an Aug. 1 letter to city Chief Executive Tom Hatch, Costa Mesa City Employee Assn. President Helen Nenedal argued that the city's request for proposals (RFP) to contract out animal control, video production and building inspection violate a city ordinance because a committee has not been formed to outline the proposals.

From the viewpoint of a policy wonk, Costa Mesa could be the most interesting city in Orange County right now. The old "Hub of the Harbor" is now on the cutting edge of an ambitious plan to reshape how a municipality delivers services. And, if the council majority is correct, there may be no other choice than to do what it suggests: lay off up to 50% of the workforce and outsource their jobs to the private sector. The city, the majority argues, is headed toward a financial iceberg formed not of frozen water, but of dangerously jagged employee pensions.

A topic that not long ago generated considerable debate is making its way back into the Costa Mesa civic dialogue: the outsourcing of city services. The 13-member Charter Committee, appointed to craft the constitution-like document in time for a vote by residents this year, will discuss outsourcing Wednesday evening. Proposed within the charter is language allowing the city to "contract out for any services" unless limited by the state's constitution. Doing so "should be considered as a prudent way to manage the resources of Costa Mesa," the proposal reads.

The Costa Mesa City Council may vote tonight on outsourcing many city functions , including fire and emergency medical services, park maintenance, building inspection, street maintenance and animal control. If approved, nearly 200 employees could receive pink slips — a tally from the city budget's listings for the 18 services under consideration. That figure includes full-time employees and part-time equivalents. Some estimates of the total employees at risk have been lower, about 150. Without those employees on payroll, the city could save on future pension costs, some officials contend.

COSTA MESA — The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday will discuss if an Orange County Fire Authority proposal to take over firefighting in the city can really lead to millions in annual savings. OCFA showed city officials three options to cover the city, two of which close fire stations and a third that shuffles manpower around but still saves $2 million a year. The proposal was submitted at the request of Costa Mesa's firefighters, who said at last week's council meeting they anticipated budget issues in the years to come and wanted to save the city money and hopefully keep firefighters from being laid off. The council last week approved distributing more than 200 layoff notices to city workers on the idea they will outsource city services, with firefighters accounting for about half of that.

Newport Beach lifeguards are pushing back against the possible outsourcing of their services at Corona del Mar State Beach, saying such a move could hurt recruitment without producing much savings. The city last month asked for applications from organizations wanting to take on the job of patrolling the 1.2-mile stretch of coastline in place of the in-house lifeguards. Contracting lifeguard services could cut annual costs and reduce full-time staff as employees retire. No layoffs are planned, according to the city.

Part-time lifeguards in Newport Beach are canvassing neighborhoods, handing out signs and promoting a petition as they push back against a city proposal that could outsource some of their jobs as a cost-saving measure. The union representing part-timers, the Assn. of Newport Beach Ocean Lifeguards (ANBOL), has organized the drive in the last week, posting the petition online Monday. The petition at Change.org, which had garnered about 600 signatures as of Thursday afternoon, asks the City Council to oppose the outsourcing lifeguard services at Corona del Mar State Beach.

PHIL ARST Does the city of Newport Beach have enough money to fund needed projects for the needs of our residents and the protection of our environment? Cleaning up the bay -- our most precious natural resource -- and many other needs in the city, such as road improvements, acquisition of land for parks and open space, and some public safety issues are not being adequately funded. The city needs to look for innovative ways to fund these needs. At a recent City Council study session, it was proposed that the city could save money by outsourcing unskilled tasks, such as park maintenance and trash collection, to help make improvements for the local benefit of city residents.

COSTA MESA — The City Council will consider sending out three requests for bids Tuesday that could outsource the city's video production, building inspection and jail services. The requests for proposals (RFPs) are the first three the city has released since voting to potentially offload more than 40% of the city's workforce in March. Limited by a court order to only outsource jobs to public agencies until a lawsuit employees filed against the city is resolved, the city can still entertain offers from agencies both public and private.

An Orange County Superior Court judge issued a tentative ruling Thursday but delayed finalizing the order that could bring a Costa Mesa municipal employee union's lawsuit against outsourcing closer to trial. For now, City Hall and the Costa Mesa City Employees Assn. will continue the prolonged court battle about the legality of the City Council's outsourcing proposal and ensuing pink slips that were eventually rescinded. Judge Robert Monarch's ruling would have denied Costa Mesa's request to dismiss or limit the lawsuit on the grounds that the layoffs were no longer on the table.

While law enforcement authorities are considering the finances of Costa Mesa's 60th anniversary celebration (the city's report on the matter was handed over to the district attorney for review), the public is getting an object lesson in the perils of outsourcing city functions. The records related to services performed by city employees are accessible to the public under the California Public Records Act. But as Councilwoman Sandy Genis has pointed out, when city functions are outsourced to private entities, the contractors' records may not be subject to public disclosure.

Newport Beach residents have recently questioned the city's efforts to outsource certain services. I appreciate their concerns and thought it would be helpful to clarify our approach to outsourcing. The community has seen us review outsourcing for street sweeping, tree trimming, residential refuse collection and, most recently, lifeguarding at Corona del Mar. The decision to outsource a service or keep it in-house always stems from a rigorous review of whether an outsourced model can provide the same or better level of service (than that currently provided by the city)

Corona del Mar State Beach will remain in the hands of Newport Beach lifeguards. The city had been exploring options to outsource lifesaving services at the 1.2-mile stretch of coastline but announced Thursday that it would drop the idea. The attempt had drawn ire from local unions and some residents still smarting from other changes to city services, but the decision came down to dollars and cents, according to city officials. Out of five organizations that submitted proposals, only two met the basic requirements, according to city staff members.

Not too long ago, this nation fought the bloodiest of all its wars to abolish the inhumane institution of "involuntary servitude," also known as slavery. In its day, the protagonists for slavery justified this heinous practice as a necessary key to economic progress and the nation's well-being. And yet we currently accept in our political mainstream, and in our right-wing media, those who fly flags commemorating this inglorious past and profit from lurid reality shows. Today, we see a morphed version of slavery, slowly creeping into our economic mainstream.

Part-time lifeguards in Newport Beach are canvassing neighborhoods, handing out signs and promoting a petition as they push back against a city proposal that could outsource some of their jobs as a cost-saving measure. The union representing part-timers, the Assn. of Newport Beach Ocean Lifeguards (ANBOL), has organized the drive in the last week, posting the petition online Monday. The petition at Change.org, which had garnered about 600 signatures as of Thursday afternoon, asks the City Council to oppose the outsourcing lifeguard services at Corona del Mar State Beach.

The Costa Mesa Charter Committee voted Wednesday evening to support an initiative that would allow the city to outsource most services. Eleven members voted in favor of including outsourcing in the proposed charter, which would require voter approval. The document is expected to go before the City Council for consideration sometime this year and then to voters in November. Committee member Harold Weitzberg dissented; Mary Ann O'Connell was absent. Most of the document's wording was crafted by the group's legal counsel, Yolanda Summerhill, who wrote that any city service can be outsourced unless disallowed by the state Constitution.

Outsourcing lifeguards at Corona del Mar State Beach would be "salt in the wounds" of a neighborhood that's still smarting from changes in trash-collection services, according to the head of the Corona del Mar Residents Assn. "We're trying to get our hands around it and understand why this would possibly make sense," association President Karen Tringali said during the group's monthly meeting Thursday morning. "And we'll be as anxious as everybody else to see if there are real savings involved in this process.